Thursday, 4 May: Thorin & Co near the Midgewater Marshes

The Midgewater, Icelandic Mývatn,was named for good reason

On this day, in 2941 T. A., Bilbo, Gandalf and Thorin's Company left the Last Inn to immerse deep into the wilderness near the Midgewater Marshes.

According to the 1960 timetable, "their progress is now very slow, owing to the badness and dangerousness of the road, esp. in the marshy region. They barely manage 12 miles a day" - which would still have been a better value than the 8 miles a day which Karen Fonstad calculated based on the 1966 Hobbit. At any rate, they will spend the next few days in the marshy lands - but then, they don't have a Ranger with them, do they? And then, there is this Hobbit who has used his chance to replenish himself in Bree with lots of Second and Third Breakfasts ...